Monday night's show at The Bishop a bit of a mixed bag. I heard one band (that I had seen before) that I don't really care for, but also got to experience a new and exciting group. You can probably guess which is which based on the performance order. The first group to go on was The Growlers. I had seen them previously when Dr. Dog came to town. They served the same purpose then as now: to lower my expectations so they could be promptly be blown away by the headliner. The Growlers play some kind of mix of psychedelia and folk (sorta), but nothing seems to click. Their singer's voice was rough and his range extremely limited. That's not a death sentence by any means, but he couldn't find a way around those limitations; he gave every song a similar vocal melody. That was exacerbated by music that didn't sound much different.
The band's outfits made them look like refugees escaping from Appalachia, and the music fit that vibe. It tried to sound rootsy and raw, but ended up being one big blur. Maybe they were high out of their minds or just too drunk. Whatever it was left me in a bit of a funk before the headliner came on.
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band cleared up all my frustrations that I had with The Growlers. Where the first band was sloppy, Mt. St. Helen's were tight and composed. Where the first band's music just kind of floated and morphed into songs, the second band had clearly defined pieces. Perhaps most importantly, where the first band didn't really have any great instrumentalists, the second band was very proficient.
Mt. St. Helens sounded more like a post-punk band, although they threw in instrumental passages that sounded more like prog rock. There were impressive guitar licks, plus measures with 5 and 7 beats, something you don't hear very often in rock. Nobody likes a show off, but there was just enough showing off to be interesting. Their singer and guitarist, Benjamin Verdoes, vacillated between introverted delivery and wild explosions of emotion that were frightening in their suddenness. Also, the keyboard player, Traci Eggleston, used some kind of tambourines attached to tall sticks that she would bang on the ground to great effect.
As much as I enjoyed Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, they couldn't make up for the openers. A serious portion of the audience had left by the time the headliners came on, which was a real shame. They missed out.
-Brian Marks
